Environmental management
We take a preventive approach to environmental protection that systematically takes into account all the stages of the vehicle manufacturing process, as well as the complete product life cycle — from development to recycling. The basic principles for this are formulated in our Environmental Guidelines, which are valid throughout the Group:
- We address the environmental challenges of the future by working continuously to improve the environmental performance of our products and operations.
- We develop products that are exceptionally ecologically sound within their respective market segments.
- We plan all stages of manufacturing to ensure optimal environmental protection.
- We offer our customers ecologically oriented services and information.
- We strive to achieve exemplary environmental performance worldwide.
- We provide our employees and the public with comprehensive information about environmental protection.
We have developed clear structures, processes, and areas of responsibility in order to pursue our environmental targets and make specific improvements.
Our environmental organization. On behalf of the Daimler Board of Management, the Board member responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development is also charged with the company’s environmental protection activities. In addition, the following four functions or organizational units are responsible for the central management of environmental issues, as well as cross-unit networking and the communication of activities:
- A Chief Environmental Officer has been appointed to coordinate environmental management throughout the Group. This official also advises the company’s management on environmental issues.
- The Corporate Environmental Protection unit coordinates the operational requirements of Group-wide environmental management. Its tasks include analyzing and implementing the legal requirements, defining and refining environmental standards, ensuring regular environmental reporting, and carrying out production-related risk management activities associated with environmental protection.
- The Corporate Environmental Council is made up of executives responsible for Design for Environment, the environmental management officers from the divisions, and representatives from the Corporate Strategy and Communications units. The council examines environmental protection issues to determine their relevance to the Group and also initiates and coordinates cross-divisional and cross-unit environmental protection measures and projects.
- Various regional committees monitor production-related environmental protection measures together with the Corporate Environmental Protection unit and the Chief Environmental Officer.
Production-related environmental management. The certification of our sites around the world in line with the international environmental standard ISO 14001, and the additional validation of our German locations by the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), are important elements of our environmental management system. The efficacy of our system is regularly audited by internal and external experts. In order to integrate environmental protection tasks into the processes at the respective units even more closely, we are working to merge the management systems for quality, environmental protection, and occupational safety into a single system. Today more than 98 percent of our employees worldwide work at facilities whose environmental management systems have been certified.
We are also using local environmental risk assessments to identify environmental risks in line with uniform worldwide standards, reduce such risks, and thus improve our preventive measures for environmental protection. This involves the systematic monitoring and assessment of a location’s environmental management system and relevant parameters such as atmospheric emissions, wastewater treatment, waste management, the handling of hazardous materials, and contamination of soil and groundwater. The elimination of all identified risks to the environment is one of the goals agreed upon by the Board of Management and the plant managers.
Environmental management in product development. Vehicle development is a standardized process in which vehicle specifications and quality gates (milestones in the development process) form the basic cornerstones. The environmental effects and requirements of our vehicles (in terms of fuel economy, emissions, environmental performance, and materials and recycling) are integral elements of all our specifications and are also taken into account throughout the entire product creation process.
Mercedes-Benz Cars meets all the requirements that are stipulated by ISO 14001 and EMAS, and its product development processes fully comply with the international ISO TR 14062 environmental standard and the expanded criteria that have been defined by TÜV Management Service GmbH.
Environmental education. Progress with the company’s environmental protection activities is only possible if all employees contribute to the effort. This is why we organize training programs for employees and managers that focus on the practical application of environmental protection at the company and address questions concerning environmental responsibility. We also train our auditors, who monitor the environmental management systems of our plants, and provide training to supplier auditors. In addition, we offer refresher courses that allow participants to share ideas and experiences.
